Making Cartoons Politically Correct…

posted by Chris Valentine

In these modern times most people are concerned with children ageing quicker than they should. Childhood innocence is disappearing too quickly for most people, and in response to trying to preserve the innocence of the nation’s youth, some people have gone overboard in their attempts. Every week new and ridiculous examples of the pious trying to save the innocent comes to light. Here’s a few to think about…

Children’s TV Shows

There is always controversy surrounding the amount of time children spend watching televisions, and obviously, the content they are watching. However, it get weird when people start dissecting the contents of shows typically aimed at children, going as far as to ban the most popular TV shows.

One such incident occurred in Ireland when top child officials decided that popular long-running show “The Flintstones” did not meet modern standards. The problem? The ideals of The Flintstones were…too prehistoric! Yes, the cartoon set in Stone Age times did not represent modern family values and depicted women in a negative light. Officials feared that the role of women in the show was too restricted to the home and enforced stereotypical ideals of women’s roles.

Seemingly, cartoonists have made these recurring patterns which feature in too many children’s TV shows. Recently, the UK decided that “Thomas the Tank Engine” did not have sufficient female roles in the show. I am sure that amongst the talking train cartoons, many perceptive toddlers who cannot yet speak were aware of the absence of a female cast. The concerns come form he UK Transport Secretary, mother of two Mary Creagh MP, who worried that children are being reinforced with the idea that men like cars and transport and women do not. Currently, there is a shortage of women involved in the industry, and according the MP, this lack of interest stems from…Thomas the Tank Engine!

“Dennis the Menace” suffered a horrifying fate at the hands of Children’s TV experts in the UK. He was stripped of all of his weapons: his slingshot, water pistol and slingshot. In their place, he is allowed to smile in a sort of grin. New episodes feature no tom foolery and Dennis the Menace has been replaced by just, Dennis.

However, there is at least one beneficial thing to come from children’s TV. Recently, MP’s have decided to ban Payday Loan ads during hours when children’s shows are televised. They have also gone one step further to prevent the companies from aiming the ads at children rather than adults. The premise of these ads seemed to have worked as they often showed adults taking out loans to buy children the toys they desired most. The number of people receiving financial help and ringing the National Debt Solutions Helpline has increased since advertisers changed the direction of their ads from aiming them at adults, to children. Parliament has quickly caught onto the problem though, and decided that they shouldn’t be allowed to be aired during times when children were likely to be watching TV, as the short term high-interest loans set a bad precedent for finance management in the future.

Elsewhere, similarly ridiculous issues continue to arise in this modern Politically Correct World. This Christmas has brought many to the forefront of our attention: such as one Santa being banned form working on a street in Essex, England as there was another Santa stationed at the opposite end. Government officials worried the appearance of two Santas’ would confuse children, to the point where they would be distressed. There is no way to begin reasoning why this is absurd, but the second Santa had to leave his station anyway. It is worth noting that the following day, the same exact street was the starting point for a charity run where participants dressed up as Santa.